Miter saw with improved carrying mode

ABSTRACT

A miter saw has a base assembly and a rotatable table disposed on the base assembly. The rotatable table is rotatable about a substantially vertical miter axis and has a substantially horizontal workpiece-supporting plane. A saw assembly is connected to the table and includes a blade. The blade is movable downwardly from a first position where the blade is above the workpiece-supporting plane to a second position where a portion of the blade is below the workpiece-supporting plane. The base assembly has a top surface and a first handle disposed on the top surface, with a first hole on the top surface extending through the base assembly, the first hole being configured to allow a user to extend the user&#39;s hand therethrough and grip the first handle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The following application derives priority from U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/043,489, filed on Aug. 29, 2014, now pending, which ishereby incorporated in whole by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to miter saws, and in particular, to amiter saw with an improved carrying mode.

BACKGROUND

Chop saws and miter saws are commonly found on jobsites because of theirversatility and ability to make cuts that other power tools cannot makequickly. Typically a chop saw has a base assembly and a saw assemblyattached to the base that can be lowered into a cutting position. Onesuch chop saw illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,960, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

A miter saw is a chop saw that has a rotatable table in its baseassembly for allowing miter cuts. Some miter saws, such as the oneillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,463, which is fully incorporatedherein by reference, have a beveling saw assembly, which allows bevelcuts, i.e., inclined cuts relative to the workpiece-supporting plane ofthe base assembly and/or table. In addition, in some miter saws, the sawassembly may beveled rightwardly and leftwardly from a zero-bevelposition, i.e., 90 degrees relative to the workpiece-supporting plane.One such chop saw illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,027, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

One problem with prior art chop saws is that they may be unwieldy tocarry. Users tend to carry them by holding the saw's base assembly withboth hands, or carrying them by the carrying handle 26. The present chopsaw is more manageable to carry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front left perspective view of a miter saw.

FIG. 2 is a front right perspective view of the miter saw of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the miter saw of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an alternative top view of a portion of the miter saw of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom left perspective view of a portion of the miter sawof FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a person carrying the miter saw of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-2 illustrates a chop saw 100 according to the invention, wherelike numerals refer to like parts. Chop saw 100 has a base assembly 12,which may include a rotatable table 14. A fence assembly 16 is connectedto base assembly 12.

Saw assembly 18 is pivotally attached to table 14. Saw assembly 18includes a support housing 17 which is rotatably connected to table 14.Support housing 17 preferably supports rails 17R, which preferably slidetherethrough.

At the end of rails 17R, it is preferable to provide a hinge 19H. Apivot arm 19 is pivotably attached to hinge 19H. Pivot arm 19 supports amotor 27 in a housing 27H. Motor 27 is operably connected to a blade 22for driving blade 22. A transmission (not shown) may connect motor 27 toblade 22.

An upper portion of blade 22 may be covered by an upper guard 23, whichis supported by pivot arm 19. A movable lower guard 24 may be rotatablyattached to upper guard 23. Lower guard 24 covers a lower portion ofblade 22 until the pivot arm 19 (and thus saw assembly 18) is moveddownwardly in a chopping action. A linkage 24L moves lower guard 24 toexpose the lower portion of blade 22 for cutting a workpiece.

Chop saw 100 has a handle 28 for lowering pivot arm 19 (and thus sawassembly 18) in the chopping action. In addition, chop saw 100 may havea carrying handle 26.

Base assembly 12 preferably has handles 12H configured to be gripped bya palmar surface of the hand 92 of a user 94 when the user 94 istransporting chop saw 100 (see FIG. 6). Carrying handle 12H may have agrip portion 12HG that is contoured to receive the fingers of the user94 when the user 94 is transporting chop saw 100.

Preferably a portion of handle 12H is disposed within a region Rdisposed between lines LA, LB. Line LA is disposed between point 22KP,which is the point along the cutting kerf 22K (i.e., the intersection ofblade 22 and the support surface of table 14, which is within plane 102)that is farthest from the fence 16 when table 14 is mitered (i.e.,rotated) to its most extreme position (either leftwardly or rightwardly;FIGS. 3-4 show table 14 in the rightmost position), and a point 16PP inthe plane 16P of fence 16, so that, when line LA is drawn between points22KP, 16P, line LA is substantially perpendicular to the plane 16P. LineLB is substantially parallel to line LA and about 100 millimeters fromline LA.

As shown in FIG. 3, grip portion 12HG can be disposed within region R.Alternatively, grip portion 12HG can be disposed outside of region R.Grip portion 12HG preferably has a top surface that is substantiallycoplanar with the plane 102 of table 14. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize that providing a grip portion 12HG that is substantiallycoplanar with the support surface of table 14 effectively extends theworkpiece support surface of base assembly 12. Due to the opening 120,which allows the user to insert his/her fingers therein, the overallweight is not substantially affected, thus providing a larger workpiecesupport surface with little added weight.

Grip portion 12HG is preferably formed about a center line that lies in(or is positionable into) a plane that includes the center of gravity CGof chop saw 100. It may be advantageous to design chop saw 100 to placethe center of gravity CG (when chop saw 100 is held in a verticalorientation as shown in FIG. 6) within the plane 102 of the supportsurface of table 14.

Preferably plane 102 is proximate a lateral side of the user 94 (i.e.,within about 10 inches of the lateral side, and preferably about 3inches to about 7 inches) and the user's wrist 92W is not in a state offlexion. With the carrying handle 26 so positioned, the user 94 is ableto comfortably carry the chop saw 100.

Because the base assembly 12 and table 14 are typically made of metalwith ribs provided below plane 102, it is preferable to provide thebottom of base assembly with at least one bottom surface plate 12W.Plate(s) 12W could extend between the feet 12F of base assembly 12 andpossibly cover the entire underside of base 12. Preferably plate(s) 12Wwould be made of plastic, rubber and/or an elastomeric material. Personsskilled in the art will recognize that providing plate(s) 12W will allowthe user 94 to comfortably place chop saw 100 against his/her leg.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A miter saw comprising: a base assembly; arotatable table disposed on the base assembly, the rotatable table beingrotatable about a substantially vertical miter axis and having asubstantially horizontal workpiece-supporting plane; a saw assemblyconnected to the table, the saw assembly comprising a blade, the bladebeing movable for a cutting operation downwardly from a first positionwhere the blade is above the workpiece-supporting plane to a secondposition where a portion of the blade is below the workpiece-supportingplane; and a fence connected to the base assembly, the fence defining afence plane; wherein the base assembly has a top surface and a firsthandle disposed on the top surface, with a first hole on the top surfaceextending through the base assembly, the first hole being adapted toallow a user to extend the user's hand therethrough and grip the firsthandle, the first handle comprises a grip portion formed about a centerline; wherein the miter saw is adapted to be carryable by the usergripping the first handle in a position where the workpiece-supportingplane is substantially vertical, the workpiece-supporting plane beingwithin 10 inches from a lateral side of the user when the miter saw isbeing carried; wherein the miter saw has a center of gravity, and thecenter line lies in a first plane that includes the center of gravitywhen the miter saw is disposed in a position where theworkpiece-supporting plane is substantially vertical.
 2. The miter sawof claim 1, wherein a portion of the first handle is disposed within aregion of the base assembly.
 3. The miter saw of claim 2, wherein theregion is defined by a first line between a first point along a cuttingkerf that is farthest from the fence when the table is mitered and asecond point on the fence plane, where the first line is substantiallyperpendicular to the fence plane, and a second line substantiallyparallel to the first line.
 4. The miter saw of claim 3, wherein adistance between the first and second lines is about 100 millimeters. 5.The miter saw of claim 1, wherein the miter saw is adapted to becarryable in a position where the workpiece-supporting plane issubstantially vertical by the user gripping the grip portion.
 6. Themiter saw of claim 5, wherein the first plane is within about 3 inchesand about 7 inches from the lateral side of the user.
 7. The miter sawof claim 1, wherein the miter saw is adapted to be carryable in aposition where the workpiece-supporting plane is substantially verticalby the user gripping the grip portion and the user's wrist is not in astate of flexion.
 8. The miter saw of claim 1, wherein the base assemblyfurther comprises a front foot and a rear foot disposed near the firsthandle, and a first plate extending between the front and rear feet. 9.The miter saw of claim 8, wherein the plate is made of plastic, rubberand/or an elastomeric material.
 10. The miter saw of claim 1, whereinthe first handle is disposed rightwardly of the blade.
 11. The miter sawof claim 10, wherein the base assembly has a second handle disposed onthe top surface leftwardly of the blade, with a second hole on the topsurface extending through the base assembly, the second hole beingadapted to allow a user to extend the user's hand therethrough and gripthe second handle.
 12. The miter saw of claim 11, wherein a portion ofthe second handle is disposed within a region of the base assembly, theregion being defined by a first line between a first point along acutting kerf that is farthest from the fence when the table is miteredleftwardly and a second point on the fence plane, where the first lineis substantially perpendicular to the fence plane, and a second linesubstantially parallel to the first line.
 13. The miter saw of claim 12,wherein a distance between the first and second lines is about 100millimeters.